Door-latch



DOOR LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-13, 1919.

. Patlld Mar. 29

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@m MJ UNllldiD DOOR-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lviar. 29, 1921.

Application filed August .1.3, 1919. Serial No. 317,284.

To all LU/0m t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CARL E. ANDERSON, a subject of the King of Sweden, residing at Vorcester, in the county of ll/Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Door-Latch, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to a door latch particularly designed for use on the doors of automobiles or for other similar purposes.

lt is the general object of my invention to provide a door latch for such purposes which is of simple and durable construction and which is economical to manufacture and very reliable in operation.

With this general object in view, my in vention relates to certain arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Specific features of my invention relate to the provision of a casing having a reentrant portion forming a recess, preferably with converging' sides; a sliding bolt to retain a striker in said recess; a locking meni- 'ber for said bolt engaged by the striker to release said bolt; and a resilient member projecting through one side of said recess and engaging the striker to prevent lost motion.

A preferred form of my invention is shown in the drawings in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing the relative position of the parts when mounted on an automobile door;

F ig. 2` is a sectional side elevation of my improved door latch;

F ig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the parts in a different position;

Fig. l is a sectional plan view taken along the line 4 4 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a partial rear elevation.

Referring to the drawings, l have shown the door latch as mounted upon a swinging member or door 10, and the striker 11 as secured to a fixed frame 12.

The different parts of the door latch are assembled in a casing 13, a portion Llof which extends along the inside of the door and provides a pivot 15 for the bell crank or handle lever 16. The casing 13 is provided with a rentrant portion 17 (Fig. 5) having converging upper and lower walls 18 and 19 (Figs. 2 and 3). The striker 11 is received in the rentrant portion or ren cess 17 as the door is closed, and is vertically positioned thereby.

n opening 2O may be formed in the lower wall 19 of the recess 17, a spring plate or other resilient member 21 projecting through the opening 20 and being held yielding-ly in raised position by a spring 22. rEllis plate 21 engages the striker 11 when the door is shut and tends to prevent rattling and lost motion between the parts.

i bolt 23 is mounted to slide vertically in the casing 13, the lower end of the bolt being wedgesh:-.ped and being adapted to project through an opening 241- in the upper wall of the recess 17. rlh-e bolt when in position substantially closes the outer end of the recess and holds the striker lliirmly between the converging walls of the recess. rl`he wedge-shaped end of the bolt is adapted to progressively advance the striker to locking position and to hold the bolt in every such position thereof.

il locking lever 25 is pivoted at 26 in the casing 17 and is provided with a projection 27 adapted to be positioned below a shoulder 23 on the bolt 23, thus holding the bolt in raised position as shown in Fig. 2. fin arm 29 projects laterally from the upper end of the lever 25, and a compres sion spring 30 is mounted on a shouldered rod 31 pivoted at 32 to the bolt 23, and having its upper end extended through an opening in the arm 29.

rlhe lower end of the lever 25 extends through a slot 33 in the upper wall 18 of the recessV 17 and is engaged by the striker 11 as the door is closed. leases the bolt 23 from the locking lever 25, permitting' the bolt to be forced downward by the spring 30 to engage the rear side of the striker 11.

laterally extending arm 34 lof the handle lever 16 is provided with a stud 35 extending into an opening in the bolt 23. By pushing the handle to the left in Fig. 1, the bolt 23 may be raised against the pressure of the spring 30 and will be held in raised position by engagement of the projection 27 with the shoulder 23. the lever 25 being moved to engaging position by the spring 30.

1t will be seen that my improved door latch is of exceedingly simple construction, comprising only three Vmoving parts, the bolt 23.y the locking lever 25 and the hand lever 16; also it is selftperative on closing.,

Such engagement reand that escape ot the striker after release of the bolt is substantially impossible. Furthermore the engagement oi' the striker between the converging walls of the recess 17, the wedge-shaped end of the bolt 23, and the upwardljT projecting spring plate 21 eifec tivelT prevent any noise, or lost motion between the parts. As previously noted, the converging shape of the recess guides the striker' to correct locking position, even when the striker is materialli7 displaced vertically.

Having thus described my invention it will be evident that changes and modifica tions may be made therein by those skilled in the art within the scope oi in v invention as expressed in the claims, and l do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed, but what l claim is:

l; A door latch having, in combination, a casing having a recess with converging npper and lower walls, a striker adapted to be centered b v said walls, a wedge-shaped 'f bolt effect-ive to hold said striker in said recess and a locking lever extended into said recess and n'ormalb7 holding said bolt in inoperative position, said lever being movable by said striker to release said bolt.

' 2. A door latch having in combination, a casing having a recessed portion with conmally holding said bolt in inoperative posi-- tion, and a striker adapted to enter said recess and engage said locking device, thereby releasing said bolt.

4. A door latch having, in combination, a casing having a recessed portion with converging side walls, a striker adapted to enter said recess, a wedge-shaped bolt effectiveto engage one side of said striker and force said striker' against said converging wal-ls, and a yielding striker-engaging device mounted in said casing, one of said walls having an vOgening through which said device is yieldingly projected: *t

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto'affixed my signature.

CARL n. ANDiiiisoN.k 

